Home to Her
by SilverLunarStar
Summary: One Shot! Michael's POV: It's been four long years since I left NY and came to Japan. You'd think after all this time I'd be over it, over her. Instead, I still think about her everyday. Every time summer rolls around, I get the urge to go back. PostBook8


**Home to Her**

_By: SilverLunarStar_

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**Disclaimer:** _I claim no ownership to the series or its characters. It all belongs to the wonderful Meg Cabot and her wonderful creativity. Also, the fic on which this story is based on does not belong to me but the _

**Author's Note:** _I'm ever so glad to be able to expand my imagination to different categories. This is my first _Princess Diaries_ fic ever. __**It is placed after book eight and does not take book nine into account**__, as I hadn't read it when I began this short ficlet. Well, thanks for reading. Enjoy!_

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It's been four yours. Four damn long years have passed since I left New York and came to Japan. You'd think after all this time I'd be over it, over her. Instead, I still think about her every damn day. Every time summer rolls around, I get the urge to go back to New York. No, that's not right; I don't really care if I go back to New York. I want to go back to her.

Don't get me wrong. Japan's been a great experience. I'm glad I came here to witness the development of my robotic arm. I've met some great people too. They're mostly a bunch of geniuses and, with the language barrier, we don't get one another at least a quarter of the time. It's been good, though. We get along pretty well.

I have to say, next to the fascinating technological advances, the food's next best! I mean, I can eat ramen for breakfast and not get looked at oddly. Well, not much… The sushi's awesome. You couldn't find this in New York… At times it feels as if I have it made here, that's why I've stayed as long as I have. The one thing it doesn't have, however, is their very own vegetarian, tree-hugging Princess of Genovia. I mean, sure, I've dated here and there.

Then come the nights where I'm sitting alone in my empty, comfortable-looking apartment, stationed right in front of the computer. There, I log into my e-mail account and , for the umpteenth time, I write something to her. They're always short, abrupt things like 'I'm doing great. How are you?' Sometimes I even work up the courage to let her know how much I miss her. Of course, I then save them in my specially-named 'Drafts' folder, where they remain.

I've debated with myself so many times on whether I should just send them or not, but I know it's not enough. I think back to the night she had planned for us; I realize just how cold and flat my words were. Sure, I didn't think it was such a big deal that I'd already had sex with Judith, but she did, and I should have respected that. Instead, I shrugged it off as if it was nothing. Well, it was nothing, to me. I should have explained it to her more. No, I should have told her sooner. Our relationship has always been pretty open and, even though the subject never came up, that's no excuse. She deserved more than that, an explanation that night wouldn't have cut it. It should have been before any of that.

Sometimes, hearing the airplanes pass by (I live near an airport) makes me want to hop onto the next flight back to New York. When I first got offered this opportunity so long ago I was ecstatic; here was a way to prove my worth to the Dowager Princess of Genovia, Clarisse Renaldo, her grandmère, her father the Prince of Genovia, even her mother Helen, and, most importantly, to her and myself. I needed to feel worthy of her, even though she thought I already was.

It took me a while to understand why she got so frustrated and angry when I told her I was moving miles away for a whole year. Within the first couple of months, it hit me just how far I was. I remember hearing from her in the news left and right back in New York. Here in Japan, I'd have to go online to look up the articles, but I don't dare.

Sometimes, the days seem to pass me by and it feels just like I'm living someone else's life. It's as if I left my real life back in New York. Things were going pretty well with us. We'd been together for two years and we respected each other. Looking back, I understand why she did what she did, albeit unconsciously. Even though it seemed like everything was fine, I finally realized she was right. In throwing the snowflake necklace to me, she saved us both. Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying I'm okay with it, but she did save us a lot of future heartache. If I didn't do this, my robotic arm wouldn't have saved the many lives it has. I know she was happy for me, it wasn't want she wanted, me moving away so far, but I know she was proud of me.

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It's now winter. Japan gets pretty cold. There's actual snow almost from the start. She would have loved this. I'm not says New York doesn't get its occasional snowfall, but more than seventy-five percent of winter is…wet. It was great the second year, I really enjoyed it with the friends I'd made by that time. The first year was complete crap, though. I couldn't stop staring at the snowflake…

This is the fifth winter without her…another year of staring at the same necklace like a mindless idiot. I even do it during the holidays while my new friends celebrate together. A couple of friend I made outside my fieldwork invite me every year to celebrate with them, but, as grateful as I am, I know I'd feel like an intruder. All I can think this year is how, in a little over a year, she'll be done with college and will be off to Genovia, where she'll remain permanently.

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Springtime has come. It's currently April. I think, out of all the seasons, spring is my favorite in Japan. It's a symbol to start anew. I think watching the blooming cherry blossoms is what finally made me do it.

A couple of hours later, I'm at the place I've been residing in for the past four and a half years, packing everything I brought with me and all the other junk I've collected over the years. I contact my friends to let them know I'm going home. I could swear one of them mumbled, 'Shinai yori osoi ho ga mashi,' which basically means 'Better late than never.' I may be wrong though…foreign languages have never been my forte and she murmured so low I don't know if I caught the phrase right.

It's all been great and I have had loads of fun, but I'm done. No more hiding.

No matter what, I get the feeling that everything will be alright.

I catch the earliest flight possible and, according to the schedule, I'll be home tonight.

_I'm coming back home…to Mia._

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_I _really_ tried to get this up yesterday, before _Forever Princess_' official release, but I ended up falling asleep and woke up around 12:30 in the morning… So, I finished typing this up and posted it as quickly as possible. If there are any errors, please let me know so I can go back and correct them. I did my best to scan through and I will eventually be coming back , but yesterday was my first day of class back at CalState – L.A. so it may be awhile. If you can point out anything, that will be a great help. Also, let me know what you all think!_

_Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my little ficlet and I really hope I kept Michael in character. I love fanfics that are in Michael's point of view, since everything is in Mia's and I feel he needs to have his say too!_

_I already pre-ordered my copy of _Forever Princess_, so it should be arriving in a few days. For those of you who will have it sooner, happy readings! I hope you all enjoy the last of _The Princess Diaries_ book series._

_~*Eli_


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